Posts by Don Johnson
The Thank Offering
The first mention of thanksgiving in the Bible comes in Leviticus 7, the concluding chapter of those outlining the Mosaic sacrificial system. The Bible calls the sacrifice described in this section (Lev 7.11-36) the “peace offering.” The distinctive feature of the peace offering is that it is a fellowship offering, where the believer consumes a…
Read MoreNo Greater Joy
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (3 Jn 4) It’s past midnight, I usually have the P&D post up by now, but I just returned home from a late night visiting a friend in ICU. We usually think of this verse when we think of our flesh…
Read MoreThe Way You See Satan Reflects the Way You See God
As I thought about today’s post, I noticed the calendar and decided to search my notes files in relation to it. One article I ran across comes from the Biblical Archaeological Review, a journal I once took as a paper subscription. I gave it up as I found less time to read than before and…
Read MoreMusic Choices – Objective Subjectivity
Making musical choices — how do you decide what’s right and what’s wrong? The subject is full of controversy. Everyone, it seems, has an opinion, and yours is wrong because you disagree with me. (At least, that’s what I’m told.) There is a lot of confusion on the issue, to be sure. I wrote something…
Read MoreTell el Amarna and the Bible by Charles Franklin Pfeiffer
Of interest to Bible nerds, I am sure, a free ebook version just announced by Project Gutenberg. I have Pfeiffer’s Between the Testaments, an excellent book. I think this one would likewise be useful for preachers. — dcsj Tell el Amarna and the Bible by Charles Franklin Pfeiffer Source: Tell el Amarna and the Bible by…
Read MoreESV Reader’s Bible: a review
English Standard Version Reader’s Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2018. Reviewed by Don Johnson Just about a year ago I spotted Crossway’s ESV Reader’s Bible on sale at about 33% of its list price. Who can pass up a sale? Besides, since Crossway published the ESV in this format, I’ve been curious. What would it…
Read MoreConsidering Clothing
Another thought-provoking article popped up recently in the Theology section over at CT.1 The subject of this brief piece is clothing and its place in post-Fall human experience. The author, Robert Covolo, starts: Before becoming a PhD candidate at Fuller Theological Seminary, I served for 12 years at a church in Long Beach, California. A…
Read MoreOn God’s Will
Our friend Kevin Bauder published a series on Knowing God’s Will recently. Given my theological predilections, I strongly desired to argue with him, but… Well, his series is simply outstanding. You need to read it. He starts with: Knowing God’s Will: Part One Does God have an individual will for each believer? To suggest otherwise…
Read MoreBest of Blogs: On Preaching
Just a few days ago, I read an outstanding blog article on preaching by Michael Kruger, president of the Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. In Moving Beyond One-Dimensional Sermon Applications, Kruger outlines three categories of application for the sermon, the call to action, the appeal to the mind, and the application to the heart.…
Read MoreBuilding Trust Relationships
A developing romantic relationship contains many fearful delights. The delights are too numerous to exhaustively list, but they include the delight of discovery, the unfolding/revealing of the person upon whom you are bestowing your affection, the new paths into which your life is entering and a host of others. As these delights are experienced, there…
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